Nick Turner: Talented Artist

I recently had the pleasure of meeting the New York artist Nicholas Turner at an exhibition for my brilliant young photographer friend Lars Stephan. I was more than a little intrigued by Turner’s story.
With the unhappy end to a long term relationship during his senior year at Parsons, Turner plummeted into a debilitating depression that had him all but lay down his brush. It was in this very dark period that he had the unbelievably good fortune to connect with the well known photographer Francois Rousseau who happened to be working on a new book, “Atelier,” based on Patrick Grainville’s 1998 novel L’Atelier du Peintre. Rousseau found in Turner the troubled artist he had been seeking and subsequently cast him as one of the main characters in his new photo drama. Rousseau had found his muse!

Somewhat ironically, but in a beautiful twist, during the course of working with Rousseau, and under the protective older artist’s mentorship, Turner found relief in what perhaps had always been there – creativity! Certainly creativity is an artist’s greatest comfort in times of adversity.
With a renewed sense of purpose Turner spent a year after the completion of Rousseau’s book preparing work for a show at the prestigious Parisian Gallery Pierre Alain Challier that coincided with the book release – all to rave reviews.
I think there is something truly gratifying in Turner’s story – the magic of transformation – the idea that we are never fully privy to the intricate course of life, and just at the very brink of destruction, there can be grace!